It broke my heart to know my parents had gone to their graves not knowing what had happened.

Then, 15 years after Jane had gone missing, there was a breakthrough, and the police reopened the case.

New technology to analyse mobile phone records showed Kevin hadn't been where he'd claimed he was at the time Jane had vanished, and he'd lied when he told police he'd spoken to her twice on the phone after she was last seen.

Kevin was arrested once again.

In time, Kevin Doherty, 57, appeared in court, where he denied murdering my beautiful sister.

The court heard Kevin had been leading a double life and was still with his wife while making a family with Jane.

After Jane's disappearance, he'd rung the flat's landline using his mobile and pretended to Jane's son Matt that he was talking to her.

He'd told a neighbour he was scouring the streets looking for her, but mobile phone records showed he was in fact near a lock-up garage he kept nearby.

At the end of the trial, Doherty was found guilty of manslaughter.

Judge Christopher Moss told him: 'Only you know what truly occurred all those years ago, how she died and where her remains lie. Only you can decide whether anyone will ever know.'

He told Kevin he bore a 'heavy and wicked responsibility' for not letting my family know where he had disposed of Jane's body.

The judge sentenced Kevin to 12 years behind bars.

My family stood up in court and clapped.

We still didn't have closure. We never would, unless Kevin voluntarily revealed what he'd done with Jane's body.

But at least evil Kevin was now where he belonged.

Then, less than halfway into his sentence, I received a letter from a probation officer.

Maxine now source: supplied

As I sat down at home and started to read it, my body began trembling with pure rage.

Kevin was going to be released in November 2018 after serving just half of his 12-year sentence.

Our family and the dedicated police had fought for years to bring Kevin to justice.

His early release felt like an insult to Jane and our efforts.

I told my family: 'He's got away with a slap on the wrist for killing Jane and leaving two children without a mother.'

We believe the law has to be changed around the world.

Whether it's manslaughter or murder, someone who takes a life deserves life in jail.

It's no wonder that crime rates are sky high when this is the punishment for killing someone.